Box Office Still Kicking Ass

April 19, 2010

New releases were not able to live up to expectations over the weekend, but at least the holdovers were able to compensate. In fact, there were five films that earned more than $15 million at the box office over the weekend. So while the top film might have missed expectations, there was a lot of strength further down the list. The overall box office was down 5.8% from last weekend to $120 million, but that is still 10.7% higher than the same weekend last year. Meanwhile, year-to-date 2010 has made $3.19 billion and it is still 9.4% higher than last year's pace.

It was a lot closer than expected, but Kick-Ass was able to eke out a win, earning $19.83 million. This is lower than Thursday's prediction, but higher than original expectations. Also, given its reviews and its reported production budget, it should have no trouble earning a profit by the time it debuts on the home market, if not sooner. Perhaps box office analysts got a little caught up with the hype, but compared to most super hero comedies, this is a great start. Granted, the Fanboy Effect will likely take its toll next weekend, but it should still make enough to be considered a solid midlevel hit. A sequel could be in the works depending on worldwide / home market numbers.

How to Train Your Dragon nearly returned to the top, earning $19.63 million over the weekend for a total of $158.25 million. At this point, $200 million is now on the low end of final expectations. It could match original expectations at $225 million.

Date Night showed surprisingly strong legs, down just 34% to $16.72 million over the past three days for a total of $48.67 million after ten. This was partially due to the film's better than expected reviews, but also partially due to the film's slightly older target demographic. It should have little trouble matching Baby Mama by this time next week, while it might top Mean Girls in the end. This is an excellent run for an April release and assuming it does respectable business internationally, it should a profit during its initial push into the home market.

Death at a Funeral was not as fortunate, opening in fourth place with $16.22 million. Weak reviews and a target audience that tends to see films on opening weekend could result in short legs. That said, it has already made almost as much as it cost to make, so there's little doubt that the movie will show a profit, eventually.

Rounding out the top five was Clash of the Titans with $15.39 million over the weekend for a total of $132.60 million after three. It might be able to push its running tally to $150 million by this time next week, but that's likely the last milestone it will reach at the domestic box office.

Moving onto the sophomore class, Letters to God fell 44% to just $621,000 over the weekend and $2.02 million after two. It should top its $3 million production budget, eventually, but it will have to have strong home market sales to show a profit.


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Filed under: Death at a Funeral, Date Night, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass, Clash of the Titans, Letters to God